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Find financial literacy activities

Find activities that can help you teach and nurture the building blocks of financial capability across the curriculum.

These classroom activities can be completed within a single class period. Each activity comes with a teacher guide and supporting student material, so it’s easy to implement whether you’re an experienced personal finance teacher, integrating financial literacy into another subject area, or supplementing your existing financial education curriculum.

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Showing 28 matches out of 136 activities

Showing 28 matches out of 136 activities

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  • Starting small and saving up

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students read a story about characters who save for something special and then create their own savings goal.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Puzzling out your savings future

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (4-5)

    Using an origami children’s puzzle, students will choose an item, a time frame, and a dollar amount to determine how long they need to save before they can buy that item.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms

  • Saving for now and later

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students learn about the importance of saving, explore the difference between short-term and long-term goals, and then set their own savings goals.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills

  • Comparing places to save money

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1), Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students compare saving money at home to saving money at a bank or credit union and then act out stories to explore which option they would choose.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Banking options, Choosing how to save, Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals), Protect (Managing risk)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Experimenting with saving

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (K-1), Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students listen to or read a fable and then do a science experiment to learn how saving a little over a long time can add up.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Save and invest (Building emergency savings, Saving for long-term goals, Saving for short-term goals)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Graphing ways to make money

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (4-5)

    Students discuss ways young people can earn money and complete a math and graphing exercise to apply their knowledge.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Becoming an entrepreneur, Making money)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms

  • Choosing a career

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (2-3), Elementary school (4-5)

    Students identify their interests and talents after reading a story about characters who explore careers connected to things they like to do.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Learning about careers, Making money)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Executive function
    • Financial habits and norms

  • Comparing careers and income

    Updated

    Ideal for: Elementary school (4-5)

    Students compare education requirements and typical incomes for different careers.

    Key information

    Topic:
    Earn (Learning about careers, Making money)
    Activity duration:
    45-60 minutes

    Building block

    • Financial habits and norms
    • Financial knowledge and decision-making skills
Activities align with the My Money Five principles introduced by the statutorily created federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

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